Research Assistant/ Associate Weather Generator

Salary: 

Research Assistant:  £32,296 to £33,882 per annum

Research Associate: £34,866 to £40,247 per annum

Newcastle University is a great place to work, with excellent benefits. We have a generous holiday package; plus the opportunity to buy more, great pension schemes and a number of health and wellbeing initiatives to support you.

Closing Date: 02 February 2025

The Role

We are seeking a Researcher to work on the development of a weather generator to downscale climate projections over the UK and Ireland co-funded by the Climate+ Co-Centre and the DARe Hub. The Climate+ Co-Centre is a new initiative to address water challenges on the Islands of Ireland and Great Britain.  

The Climate+ Co-Centre brings together over 60 leading researchers from 14 academic partner institutions in the UK over a six-year period. It will undertake research, providing evidence and urgently needed solutions for the interlinked climate change, biodiversity loss and water quality degradation crises on the islands of Ireland and Great Britain, and globally. More information about the Climate+ Co-Centre can be found here. 

DARe is the National Hub for Decarbonised, Adaptable, and Resilient Transport Infrastructures – brings together 4 leading UK universities, and diverse industry, government, and civic partners. DARe’s mission is to find viable pathways and solutions for a transition to an adaptable, resilient, net zero transport system that works for all. For further information see here. 

The researcher will build upon recent work which has developed an open-source weather generator model coded in python. The methodological approach for the weather generator is based upon the same approach used for the UKCP09 weather generator but the new model will also have the capacity to simulate long stochastic simulation sets for spatial outputs across catchments. The researcher will link the current weather generator to climate projections relevant for the UK and Ireland to ensure the stochastic data series capture the range of uncertainty in climate projections while correcting climate model biases. The approach will develop stochastic time series consistent with global warming levels. The researcher will also be responsible for delivering climate information needed for case studies within the DARE project, working with other postdoctoral researchers and stakeholders from industry to help develop long-term strategies for resilient and low-carbon transport infrastructure within the UK. 

We are looking for candidates who can work well with other members of the team at Newcastle, as well as our academic collaborators.  

To apply, please complete an online application and upload a CV and cover letter. Your cover letter is a supporting statement, and you should outline how you meet the essential criteria of the role and evidence this with examples. 

For informal queries regarding the project or the role, please contact Professor Hayley Fowler (hayley.fowler@newcastle.ac.uk)  

The position is fixed term for a period of 2 years with a view for the successful appointee to commence employment as soon as possible. The position is offered on a full-time basis (37 hours per week), based on site in Newcastle. We would be happy to discuss arrangements for flexible and/or blended working. 

Interviews will be held 6th & 7th March 2025

Click here to see more about working in the School of Engineering. 

As part of our commitment to career development for research colleagues, the University has developed 3 levels of research role profiles.  These profiles set out firstly the generic competences and responsibilities expected of role holders at each level and secondly the general qualifications and experiences needed for entry at a particular level. 

Key Accountabilities 

• Use new hourly observations of precipitation to re-calibrate the WG to better simulate high-resolution rainfall variability

• Develop distributions of future change factors from relevant climate model projections, working with other postdocs in Co-Centre and DARE

• Develop a framework and codes for integrating change factors for temperature and precipitation statistics from climate models into the WG model

• Generate gridded high-resolution stochastic data series for Ireland & the UK that capture the range of uncertainty in climate projections and metrics that deliver this information at relevant scales (e.g. catchment, administrative region)

• Work with other researchers in the Co-Centre to deliver information for an online platform to link the WG into the new climate atlas being developed for the UK and Ireland

• Work with other researchers and stakeholders within DARE to integrate climate information into case studies to help develop long-term strategies for resilient and low-carbon transport infrastructure within the UK 

This project will use the latest model simulations from large ensembles including: (1) CMIP6 projections; (2) UKCP18 projections for the whole of Ireland & the UK; (3) Existing downscaled simulations of CMIP5 and CMIP6 with a specific GWL focus; (4) Regional climate projections produced by ICHEC (downscaled CMIP5&6), Met Eireann (TRANSLATE) and EURO-CORDEX; (5) Specific stabilized climate simulations.  

The Person 

Knowledge, Skills and Experience  

• Knowledge and research experience in using climate model outputs and/or observational datasets

• Evidence of planning and organisation of research 

• Experience in python coding and handling of large datasets

• A developing research profile with a track record of research publications appropriate to career stage

• Ability to plan and implement research projects effectively and deliver outputs to meet tight deadlines 

Desirable  

• Experience in statistical analysis of extremes

• Experience in development of online software tools

• Experience in analysing precipitation datasets

• Ability to contribute to the development of funding proposals to generate external funding to support research

Attributes and Behaviour 

• Capacity for original thought and initiating new research ideas

• Ability to work independently, as well as to collaborate effectively with other researchers and project partners

• An ability to communicate effectively via oral and written media

Qualifications 

• A PhD (or close to completion for Assistant level) in the field of environmental science, computer science, engineering or related discipline

Newcastle University is a global University where everyone is treated with dignity and respect.  As a University of Sanctuary, we aim to provide a welcoming place of safety for all, offering opportunities to people fleeing violence and persecution.

We are committed to being a fully inclusive university which actively recruits, supports and retains colleagues from all sectors of society.  We value diversity as well as celebrate, support and thrive on the contributions of all of our employees and the communities they represent.  We are proud to be an equal opportunities employer and encourage applications from individuals who can complement our existing teams, we believe that success is built on having teams whose backgrounds and experiences reflect the diversity of our university and student population.

At Newcastle University we hold a silver Athena Swan award in recognition of our good employment practices for the advancement of gender equality.  We also hold a Race Equality Charter Bronze award in recognition of our work towards tackling race inequality in higher education REC.  We are a Disability Confident employer and will offer an interview to disabled applicants who meet the essential criteria for the role as part of the offer and interview scheme.

In addition, we are a member of the Euraxess initiative supporting researchers in Europe. 

Requisition ID: 27815